Every New Beginning
by CheerUpSleepyJean
Summary: "Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end" (Semisonic, "Closing Time"). What happened before the events of the show? Friendships are forged, hearts are broken, and smiles are mended in the Helperman household.
1. Chapter 1

January 2nd, 1994  
"Hi, Pwetty Boy!"  
Glancing down at Leonard, the bright green canary couldn't keep a tiny grin off of his beak. Ever since the recently-hatched Pretty Boy had joined the Helperman household, their chubby, pale, 3-year-old son had shown him nothing but kindness. Like Mrs. Helperman, the child was shaping up to be of the compassionate sort, though he seemed a bit more reserved than the lady in question.  
The "DING-DONG" of the doorbell drew little Leonard's attention away from the birdcage. Tripping over his own small feet, the boy ran to the kitchen, where his father had just returned from work.  
"Hi, Daddy!"  
Byron Helperman looked down with a start; Leonard had wrapped himself around his father's long legs.  
"Oh...hello, Leonard."  
He awkwardly patted his son's ginger hair.  
In the background, Pretty Boy tilted his head to the side, his brows knotting. The canary didn't miss a trick around his new home.  
He had watched Mrs. Helperman—an enthusiastic, sweet woman—lavish her love on her little bundle of joy.  
He had watched Mr. Helperman pace late at night, wring his hands and ask himself "am I ready to raise a child? Why did I rush into this? Should I tell Mary Lou?"  
Pretty Boy saw it all. And what he saw worried him.  
Mrs. H didn't seem notice anything; she was too overjoyed with Leonard. Unfortunately, this attitude kept her from seeing the doubt in her husband's eyes.  
And the canary's concerns remained unaddressed.


	2. Chapter 2

September 4th, 1993  
"Oh, sweetie-pie, you're home!" gushed Mrs. H. Still holding Leonard, she reached up and gave her husband a peck on the cheek.  
"Yes...Mary Lou, could I speak with you for a moment?"  
"Of course, cheery-deary! You go off and play for a minute, doodlebug!"  
"Ok, Mommy!"  
Leonard squirmed out of his mother's arms and toddled off; Mrs. Helperman faced her husband.  
Byron looked down at his feet.  
"Look, I know that I've been a bit...distracted as of late. I guess I just have a lot on my mind, what with Leonar-"  
He cleared his throat.  
"Well, what's been distracting me isn't important. The point is, I wanted to make it up to you, so I got you a little something."  
Mary Lou's eyes lit up as her husband fetched a hole-punched box from the doorway. He grunted under its weight.  
"Well, maybe not so little."  
Her face glowing with anticipation, she gently lifted the lid from the box.  
"Ooh, Byron! He's wonderful!"  
Inside was a rather chunky, striped, orange cat.  
A small grin spread across Mr. Helperman's face.  
"His name is Mr. Jolly."  
Mary Lou giggled.  
"He certainly looks like a jolly one! Come here, you!"  
Staggering slightly, Mrs. Helperman picked up the fat cat and brought him to the living room.  
"Well, Mr. Jolly, I have to go and make lunch. You be a good kitty, and don't bother the birdie!"  
Still smiling, she left for the kitchen.  
Pretty Boy was not smiling, however.  
"A cat!" He mumbled, fear gripping his hollow bones. "They've gotten a vicious, bird-eating, evil cat!"  
With the tips of his wings, he gripped the bars of his cage.  
"Ok, calm yourself, Pretty Boy. I can do this, I just need to come up with a battle strategy." He took a deep breath.  
"First thing to do is to scope out the enemy."  
Reaching between the cage bars, he unlatched the door, and silently flew out onto the floor. Once free, the canary immediately flattened himself against the side of the couch. Filled with apprehension, Pretty Boy poked his head around the edge, hoping to get a distant glimpse of the terrible beast...  
Only to come face-to-face with said beast.  
"AAAAAAAAH!" He screeched, falling backward.  
"AAAAAAAAH!" Yowled the feline, scooting away from Pretty Boy.  
The canary watched, eyes wide, as the cat curled himself into a furry ball.  
"Oh please, oh PLEASE don't gore me with your talons, Mr. Bird! HAVE MERCY!"  
Pretty Boy raised an eyebrow.  
"Wha...? I'm not going to hurt ya, stupid cat!"  
The feline backed away.  
"Oh, sure. That's probably what you say to all of your victims...BEFORE YOU PECK THEIR EYES OUT WITH YOUR POINTY LITTLE BEAK!"  
The canary just stared for a moment. Then he shook his head.  
"You're pathetic."  
Chuckling to himself, Pretty Boy flew back up to his cage.  
"A cat that's afraid of birds! When the Helpermans get a REAL cat, then I'll worry!"

Pretty Boy was still laughing to himself as he swooped onto the couch hours later. Turning on the television with a swift peck of the remote, he settled down to watch a few mushy soap operas before the rest of the family got home. As per usual, rain drenched the characters on the screen as they delivered dramatic soliloquies.  
"But Marsha! I...I LOVE you!"  
Pretty Boy furrowed his brow.  
"Don't listen to him, Marsha!"  
"He's lying! He's never loved you, Marsha!"  
The shout drew the canaries attention away from the screen. He whipped his head around, only to see Mr. Jolly slinking by.  
"Hey, cat! You're a fan of The Suspicious Sweethearts?"  
The cat nodded slowly.  
"Of course. And Marsha could do so much better than Bob! If only she had married Kyle!"  
"I know, right?"  
There was an awkward pause.  
"Well...if ya like it so much, why don't ya come up here and watch?"  
Mr. Jolly shrank back.  
"You won't shred me with your talons?"  
"So long as ya don't try to eat me!"  
After a moment of hesitation, Mr. Jolly hopped gracefully onto the other end of couch.  
"Errr..."  
"If ya got something to say, cat, spit it out!"  
The cat slowly turned to face his companion.  
"What's your name, Mr. Bird?"  
"Drop the 'mister.' It's Pretty Boy."  
"I'm Mr. Jolly."  
The canary made a face.  
"That's the stupidest name I ever heard!"  
"Oh, really...PRETTY BOY?"  
"...touché."

**A/N:**  
**"Haha! You said 'tush-!'**  
**NOT A WORD, IAN!"**  
**(From "Inspector Leadready II")**  
**Also, I just realized that I can call Pretty Boy and Mr. Jolly PB and J! That makes me so absurdly happy!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Edited so that it passes the Bechal test, because that's important to me. **

March 6th, 1995

Mr. Jolly and Pretty Boy sat by the doorway of the Helperman household. Usually when the house was void of humans, the halls echoed with the pets' chatter, but not today.

There was nothing to be said. There was nothing to be done.

It was too late.

Neither knew how long they waited before they heard a cheerful shout of "Mommy's home!"

With her arms full of 4th grade schoolbooks, Mrs. Helperman entered the house.

"Sweetie Pie, can you pick up Leonard from kindergarten? I know it's your day off, but I've got a bundle of tests that won't grade themselves!"

Once again, silence fell.

"Byron?"

Gently, Mr. Jolly rubbed against the lady's legs as Pretty Boy flew onto the table, drawing her attention to an envelope, stark white against the dark table.

Mary Lou's hands shook as she tore open the note. Frantically, she skimmed the black words on the paper. Her eyes filled with tears.

"Oh, Byron..."

Her legs gave out, and she plunked down onto a nearby chair, sobbing silently. Mewing sympathetically, Mr. Jolly hopped onto her lap. On her shoulder perched Pretty Boy.

"How could...how could Byron just abandon us? He never tried to talk...we could have worked something out."

She slumped forward, burying her face in her hands.

"But he just LEFT!"

Not Mary Lou, nor Mr. Jolly, nor Pretty Boy know how long they sat there, silently sharing their pain, before a loud "RING" startled the trio out of their misery.

Sniffling loudly, Mrs. H trudged to the phone.

"H-hello?"

"Mrs. Helperman? Sorry to bother you, but school has long since ended, and no one's picked up Leonard yet."

"I know, I'm sorry."

Mary Lou suddenly straightened up.

"I'm on my way over now."

She firmly hung up the phone.

As she slipped on her jacket, the now-single mother thought aloud: "If Byron wants to abandon us, fine, but that doesn't mean that my life is done. I can get through this; I must be strong. For Leonard."

She eyed her pets. A weak smile crossed her lips.

"And for you two."

Giving the cat and the canary a pat each, she wiped her eyes and marched out the door.

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Mary Lou was determined to struggle through Byron's betrayal, but her son didn't share her strength. Pretty Boy and Mr. Jolly would never forget the look on Leonard's face when his mother told him what had transpired; the tears shining in his baby blue eyes, the contortion of his brow, the downturn of his mouth...he was the picture of despair. Two weeks later, a smile had yet to cross his face.

Pretty Boy and Mr. Jolly stared at Leonard from afar, helpless to ease his suffering.

"That poor kid" the canary whispered. "Jolly, can't you go over there and do some of that cute cat stuff? It might make him feel better."

Mr. Jolly shook his furry orange head.

"I've got my paws full trying to keep Mrs. Helperman cheery! In fact, I'm due to go rub against her legs and purr in another two minutes! Can't you...I don't know, cuddle with him?"

"I'm a bird, not a stuffed animal!"

Their conversation was cut short by the sound of the doorbell. They followed Mrs. Helperman as she dashed into the kitchen and pulled the door open.

"Mary Lou?"

"Oh...hello, Janet."

Janet noticed her friend's fallen face.

"Were you expecting someone else?"

"I was hoping...never mind."

The woman nodded sympathetically.

"How are you holding up?"

Mary Lou shrugged slowly.

"Just a bit lonely, to be honest, but I'm fine. What brings you here?"

She suddenly noticed the pet carrier by Janet's side.

"Well, I know how much you love animals, so I thought I'd come to you, first. My class found this poor critter out on the streets during last month's field trip."

Janet tilted the carrier, allowing Mary Lou to peep inside.

"Oh, what a little cutie pie!"

"I know! I've been keeping him in my classroom for awhile—my students adore him, and even gave him some basic training. The thing is, Principal Strickler found out about him yesterday, and you know how that man is..."

Mary Lou rolled her eyes and nodded.

"...so I was wondering if you'd like to take him in?"

She put a finger to her chin.

"Well, I don't know. After all, I've already got two pets..."

Her face suddenly lit up.

"But how could I say no to such a sweet little doggy?"

Pretty Boy and Mr. Jolly looked at each other in horror. As the women continued to talk, they snuck into the living room.

"Oh, dear! It's a DOG, Pretty Boy! A ferocious, cat-chasing DOG!" In a blind panic, the cat began running in circles.

"I KNOW, ya neurotic hairball!"

"Don't just stand there! Summon your inner hawk, and peck him to death!"

The canary slapped his wing against his face.

"Somebody's been watching too many Alfred Hitchcock movies."

"Well, WHAT DO WE DO?"

"Shh!"

Pretty Boy clapped a wing over Mr. Jolly's mouth as Mary Lou brought the pet carrier into the living room.

"Aren't you just just precious?" she cooed to the creature inside. "Ok, Spot, you stay here while I get my doodlebug! Oh, he'll be so happy!"

With that, she set the carrier down, and ran off to find her son.

Pretty Boy and Mr. Jolly eyed the pet carrier nervously.

"Now what?" lisped the cat.

"Now ya go in there and distract it, while I hop the nearest train for Florida."

"I'm not going in there! I'll get mauled!"

Pretty Boy sighed.

"Oh, c'mon, 'fraidy-cat! Ya gotta be strong—look fear in the eye and laugh!"

"Then YOU go in there!"

The canary blinked.

"Maybe I will."

With the tip of one wing, he apprehensively unlatched the the pet carrier—and was bowled over by a tiny, cross-eyed, blue puppy.

Mr. Jolly did a double take.

"Is that a dog, or some sort of rodent?"

"Hmmm..."

Pretty Boy stood up, dusted off his feathers, and strolled over to the new pet for a closer inspection. It took one look at the bird, stuck out its smooth, pink tongue, and gave Pretty Boy a big lick.

"Yech! Definitely a dog—only dogs are this slobbery!"

"But he's so tiny!"

"Well, of course he's tiny!" Pretty Boy snapped, still attempting to get the drool off of his feathers. "He's obviously just hatched!"

Mr. Jolly slowly strolled over to where the puppy sat, and gave him a little sniff. The new pet sniffed back, and rubbed his tiny head against the cat's thick, orange neck.

"Oh!" Mr. Jolly giggled. "He's rather affectionate, is he not?"

Pretty Boy rolled his eyes and huffed.

"Come on, Mr. Grumpy" said Mrs. Helperman as she re-entered the living room, Leonard in tow. "I've got something that will turn that old frown upside-down!"

Leonard raised a skeptical eyebrow at his mother before directing his gaze into the living room.

His light blue eyes immediately locked with the puppy's chocolate brown ones.

Mary Lou smiled.

"His name is Spot."

Leonard crept forward. Sinking to his knees, he cautiously extended one of his chubby hands toward the dog. Instead of waiting for the boy to reach him, Spot bounded onto Leonard's lap and gave him a big, slobbery kiss.

Leonard stiffened for a split second; then, he carefully wrapped his arms around the little blue furball, who was still nuzzling his pale face. A faint hint of a grin budded on Leonard's mouth, then bloomed, extending from ear to ear.

"Well," Pretty Boy muttered under his breath. "Looks like we're keeping the pooch."

The canary took in the beaming smiles around him. In spite of himself, a grin spread onto his beak, too.

The Beginning.

**A/N: I just HAD to interject a reference to Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds!"**

**Calling all Teacher's Pet fans! There's a forum for this fandom (not created by me, though I am a member) on Zetaboards (**** Teachers_Pet_Forum/index/****)! It would be lots of fun if more people joined!**


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